WRC Safari Rally: Blow to Defending Champions Toyota as Leading Trio Retire Amid Safety Concerns

A dramatic turn of events on day three of the WRC Safari Rally Kenya saw Toyota's leading drivers—Oliver Solberg, Sébastien Ogier, and Elfyn Evans—retire from Saturday's competition.

Toyota team leader Juha Kankkunen confirmed that the trio would not participate in the day's remaining stages. All three are expected to rejoin the rally on Sunday under restart regulations.

The trouble began on the notoriously rough and unpredictable Elementaita stage near Lake Naivasha, where crews encountered conditions far different from what they had anticipated during reconnaissance.

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Championship leader Elfyn Evans was visibly frustrated after his run was ruined by punctures.

"It’s an absolute joke," Evans stated as quoted by Citizen Digital. "They put all these things at the finish to stop us from cutting after the recce, and now the stones are everywhere. I just went for the line and got a double puncture. It’s ridiculous and completely out of order."

Oliver Solberg, who was leading the rally at the time, echoed Evans's sentiments and raised serious safety concerns.

"Seriously, what the organisers and FIA have done is unacceptable," Solberg said. "They put sticks after recce, sent us a video, and now all the sticks are gone—there are rocks everywhere. It’s dangerous, and they still talk about safety. This is unacceptable."

Solberg had taken a slender one-second overnight lead over Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier into Saturday, which was expected to test crews to the very limit and it proved to be at a missive coast for Team Toyota.